


Purple Hydrangeas

by Bat_Freak



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Autistic Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Protective Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bat_Freak/pseuds/Bat_Freak
Summary: The infamous Tiger Shark snatches Batman's kid sidekick, Tim Drake AKA Robin. Bruce is furious with Tiger Shark, with Tim, and with himself. In his journey to rescue Tim he'll have to learn more about who they both are, as well as who Tim and Bruce are to each other.
Kudos: 15





	1. Fresh Ice

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction in a long time and my writing is pretty rusty. I'll admit I'm not a very good writer, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless! I don't want to pin this down in a specific place in the timeline so I avoided given specific ages to the characters but Batman is Bruce Wayne, Robin is Tim Drake, and Nightwing is Dick Grayson. And yes, this is totally a self-indulgent fluff fic. Also, this is a huge WIP and a first draft.

Somewhere in the back of his burning throat, in the depths of his chest, in the chambers of his heart, the last bit of life he had to offer was flickering and fading. His eyes were stuck open, staring into the depths of the cold, icy ocean. His mind raced with thoughts, ideas, what to do. Even in his last breath, near death, he still wouldn’t give up hope. He swam up to the ice and once again smashed his body against it, he knew he couldn’t do this for much longer but he had to try. He punched the ice, he struggled, he crashed into it, nothing worked. Suddenly, a ray of light, a hand, some hope.

He raised himself out of the water and coughed. Shivering, he looked over at his savior.  
"Hey...looked like you could use some help," Nightwing said, with a little smile.  
"Yeah. Thanks," Batman grumbled. He coughed more and took a moment to catch his breath.  
"A-are you..."  
"Fine. I'm fine," Batman said, between coughs. "Come on."  
They walked through the ice and snow, finally coming to comparatively dry land. Batman clenched his fist and then dropped to his knees.  
"What..." Nightwing started, not sure if he should continue his sentence.  
"They took him! Goddamnit."  
"What happened?"  
Bruce sat, cold snow numbing his cuts and injuries. He gritted his teeth.

The day before...  
Tim Drake, AKA Robin, trotted beside his mentor, Bruce Wayne also known as the infamous Batman. He smiled, going on and on about his newest theories about the Justice League members and various other superheroes. Bruce may not have been entirely interested in Tim's ideas and theories, but he admired Tim's unashamed excitement and he wanted Tim to be able to express himself in this way. Over rooftops, through alleyways, and despite whatever was thrown at them, Tim kept prattling on.  
"And that's why I think Superman is really a plant!" Tim exclaimed, excitedly, as Bruce crouched on a gargoyle.  
"Interesting," Bruce said, half-listening. His eyes were focused on something in the distance. Tim followed Bruce's line of sight. There was a ship being loaded with crates by three muscular people cloaked in shadows. Bruce and Tim dropped down into the alley and crouched, watching the people. They watched, waited. One of the crates started to move on its own, you could almost hear faint crying coming from inside.  
Suddenly Bruce realized, the rash of children going missing that Bruce suspected was due to the criminal Tiger Shark returning. The crate. The ship.  
"I have to get on that ship," Bruce whispered, his eyes wide. Tim nodded. Bruce looked down at him. Tim was just a teenager, young and full of life. Still naive, still hopeful. Tiger Shark would eat him alive or, at the least, he'd be seriously traumatized. Yes they were partners, but Bruce was still Tim’s guardian. He still had to protect him.  
"But...you have to stay here."  
"What?!" Tim exclaimed. One of the muscular people looked around. Tim and Bruce quickly hid. Lowering his voice, Tim continued his protest.  
"I have to come! We're Batman and Robin, the dynamic duo!" Tim insisted, "I'll be fine, I promise I won't trip you up!"  
"It's not about that," Bruce sighed, putting his hand on Tim's soft, black hair.  
"Then...what is it about?" Bruce knew he couldn't explain to Tim. He couldn't explain that he worries about Tim. He worries about Tim one day slipping up and getting hurt, physically or mentally. He worries Tim might be too much like Jason.  
"You have to stay."  
"But-" Bruce gripped Tim's shoulder, firmly, and Tim knew that meant he should stop protesting. He nodded and threw his batrope. Bruce watched Tim fly off to another rooftop.  
Bruce silently crept onto the big, hulking ship. As he did, more of Tiger Shark's cronies loaded crates onto the ship. Suddenly, there was a noise. Inside one of the crates was kicking and screaming. Bruce snapped into action, kicking the thug in the face. He looked around for a crowbar to open the crate, but instead more thugs jumped out from the shadows. Then, Tiger Shark walked out from the cabin of the ship, slowly clapping.  
"Nicely done, boys. I'm honestly surprised, Batman...I expected better of you. You should know such an obvious trap when you see it."  
Bruce growled at Tiger Shark and spit in his face. Tiger Shark grimaced.  
"Mm, lively one, aren't you." Then, the inevitable fight broke out. First it was five of Tiger Shark's cronies versus Bruce. Then more kept coming. Bruce was still holding his own, but there was still more coming. Suddenly, from a nearby rooftop, Tim jumped into the action. The boat had never left the shipyard, Tim must have been watching the whole thing from a nearby rooftop. A hot shock of anger flashed through Bruce as he thought about how Tim blatantly ignored his instructions. He expected this from Jason, and even Dick to an extent, but Tim rarely disobeyed Bruce.  
"I told you-"  
"I know, I know...but it looked like you could use some help. I'm sorry!"  
Bruce's anger subsided. Tim seemed so sincere and apologetic, it was hard to be angry with him. But he still disobeyed, and that can be dangerous in this line of business. Suddenly, Tiger Shark grabbed Tim.  
"Dad!" Tim yelled out at Bruce. Bruce's eyes widened, then a bag went over Bruce's head. His hands and legs were tied down.  
Darkness consumed Bruce. All he could hear was struggling, then Tim yelling, then nothing but the clinking of the ship and the hum of the water. Suddenly, he was thrust overboard into the water, still tied up. He quickly took out a batarang from his sleeve, cut the ropes, and ripped the bag off of his head. As he watched the boat float away, he saw Tiger Shark standing on the side with a large bazooka-like weapon. Bruce's eyes grew wide as he realized what the weapon was. Mr. Freeze's ice thrower had recently been stolen. Cold, hard ice layered itself onto the water. Bruce dove to avoid being frozen but when he tried to come back up for air, he realized what a bad idea that was. The ice trapped him into the water. All he could see was ice, water, and purple hydrangea flowers.

"So that's what happened?" Nightwing asked. Bruce shook his head, he had become so enthralled in the story that he became unaware of his surroundings. He just couldn't stop mulling over the whole thing, thinking about how he could've done better, he could've been better. But now Tiger Shark had Robin and was heading to who knows where.  
"We have to..."  
"I know, we have to find him, but our priority right now is you. You look pretty badly beaten up and you're freezing. Let's get you back to the cave and we can regroup and find him." Bruce met Dick's eyes. "We will find him, Bruce. I promise.”


	2. Upper Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce, Tim, and Dick use critical thinking skills to figure out puzzling situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is finally here <.< hope y'all like it! Also um... I might be involving even more of my own personal head canons, but it's mostly subtext heh heh

Back at the cave, Alfred and Dick tended to Bruce's wounds while Bruce sat at the computer, obsessively typing.  
"B...no matter how much you look through Tiger Shark's file, it's not gonna change and it's not gonna help you find Tim any faster," Dick told Bruce.  
"Well, I can't just do nothing!" Bruce yelled. They were both silent for a bit.  
"Sorry...I'm just tense."  
"Yeah, I get that. I faced Tiger Shark and he was pretty...well, you know."  
"Yes," Bruce hissed, tapping the tips of his fingers together, "You did face him, didn't you?"  
"Uhh yeah," Dick said, confused as to why Bruce was being so weird. "His downfall, I think, is that he's super egotistical. He thinks he's a god. Also he values fashion over function, ya know? A lot of his weapons and stuff are less efficient because he's obsessed with them looking nice."  
Bruce nodded, deep in thought.  
"Maybe if we could figure out why he wanted those kids then we could figure out where he's going...were they just a trap for me or is he really taking them somewhere? We have to be quick with this. Every second counts..." Bruce glared at the computer.  
“I’ll put on some tea,” Alfred said as he got up and walked out of the batcave.

After hours of searching and interrogating, a thug who used to work for Tiger Shark finally told Bruce that Tiger Shark picks up extra money taking “problem children” to a “boarding school” on a secret island. The island was discovered to have very profitable minerals in it and the children are used as “workers” to mine it. The problem is no one knows where the island is. Tiger Shark’s cronies are forced to stay below deck so they won’t know the location of the island.

Bruce paced around the cave, his cape dragging behind him. He couldn’t stop thinking about how this was all his fault. Tim was so young, happy, full of life, and Bruce let him be taken away like that. Suddenly, someone stepped on Bruce’s cape and he almost fell over. He looked over to see Dick.  
“So..no dice, huh?”  
“I searched all over. No one knows where the island is. I even asked Superman to fly around the water but he didn’t find any secret island.” Bruce dropped into his chair and sighed, quietly mumbling, “This is all my fault.”  
“It isn’t your fault…” Dick put a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “This isn’t your fault, dad.”  
Bruce sighed, repeating the words ‘secret island’ to himself.  
“Hey, wait…” Dick looked at the computer, processing a thought. Then, he snapped his fingers.  
“Secret island! Who do we know who lives on a secret island?”  
“Um...Santa Claus?” Bruce looked at Dick, not sure where he was taking this.  
“No! Santa Claus lives at the North Pole! I’m talking about Wonder Woman! Her island is cloaked so that people won’t be able to see it. Maybe it’s the same thing for this island.”  
“Dick, you’re a genius.” Bruce got up and quickly walked away.  
“I do fancy myself quite the intellectual,” Dick smiled, running after Bruce.

“Some time ago, Wonder Woman and I discussed the mechanics of her secret island. Sure it’s ‘magic’ but ‘magic’ is really just its own science. I was able to create goggles that could see through the cloak. I uh...didn’t tell Diana...I’m not sure if she’d be too happy about it.” Bruce opened a metal box and took out a pair of large, silver goggles. They were shiny and looked as if they hadn’t seen much use.  
“Dick...get on the water scooter.”

Tim’s breathing was fast and labored, his whole body shaking. He didn’t know how long it had been since Tiger Shark had pulled a bag over Tim’s head and tossed him into a cell. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.  
“Stupid, stupid, stupid…” Tim repeated, quietly. If only he had followed Bruce’s instructions. If only he hadn’t been so stupid. If only he had done what he was told. Even if he made it out of this alive, Bruce would probably fire him from being Robin and kick him out of the manor. Then where would he go? What would he do?  
Finally Tim was able to worm his way out of the ropes that were around his wrists. He carefully lifted the bag off his head. He was in the cargo hold of the ship. Around him were boxes with little air holes in them. He ran around the ship, trying to find a way out. The doors were shut tightly and locked. Breaking a window would let a ton of water in and in general be a bad idea. His utility belt was gone. All he could hope was that Bruce was coming. He lay down on the cold metal and purple hydrangea petals, choking out a sob. He felt so stupid, worthless, lost.

Years ago, when Tim first became Robin, he felt like he wasn’t sure if he could do it.  
He was fighting training robots and not doing too well. Finally, he threw down his staff in frustration.  
“I’ll never be good at fighting! I’m just too small...too incapable.”  
Bruce put a hand on Tim’s shoulder.  
“I know it’s frustrating to not be as strong as others but regardless of your size or your physical capabilities, you’ll always be one of the most clever people I know. Use that as your upper hand.” He motioned to the robot. “Everyone and everything has a hidden weakness. Just look close.”

Tim snapped out of his half-dreaming state, but he remembered Bruce’s words from so long ago. Then he noticed something. One of the doors had a loose screw and some broken hinges. If Tim rammed it with his body, he might be able to get it open. He flapped his hands around to calm himself and took a deep breath. Then, he took a few steps back.


End file.
